


Behind Bars

by QueenCorb_Starrgazer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste Needs a Hug, Drabble, F/M, Gen, How Do I Tag, I had a idea and I ran with it, I will add more tags when I write more, Kagami Tsurugi - Freeform, Kidnapping, Lukanette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is a Mess, Marinette has two moms, Master Fu is a life saver, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug Spoilers, Motherly Tikki, Nino is a good bro, Oops, Rated For Violence, Season 3 Spoilers, Song Inspired Chapters, Sorry Not Sorry, Spoilers for Season 3, Stalker, Tikki being a mom, Tikki is Marinettes second mom, Yes I'm meaning Tikki, adrinette is endgame, at least not yet, but not to violent, just starting, liars, music inspired, some adrigami, some lukanette, tsk tsk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-01-07 00:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18399338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCorb_Starrgazer/pseuds/QueenCorb_Starrgazer
Summary: Ladybug had a hunch, and she wasn't going to let it be pushed to the back of her mind. Nor was she going to realize just how twisted a reoccurring enemy could be.~Marinette was their everyday Ladybug, as Adrien coined her. But what happens when the real Ladybug and Marinette goes missing?I'll add more to this once I write more to it! Sorry about the awkward summary, I'm just hoping that if I get this idea here, I'll write more on it.





	1. Capturing The Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a glimpse at what is to come!  
> This chapter acts as a preface or prolog for what is to come. It's short but that is the point. I didn't want to have all of this in the description, mainly because I feel like it would give away too much. So, therefore, this is the preface/prolog to the story. The chapters to come will, of course, be longer. This story is extremely exciting for me to write and I enjoy it a lot! Thank you for checking it out and I hope you come back for more.

Ladybug felt her gloved hand tighten around her compact more than saw. She knew she probably should’ve waited for Cat Noir, but she didn’t want to study physics anymore. Her brain was quite tired. This was one of the motivators to try and track down Hawk Moth. For one, she was really tired of having random Akuma attacks during the school day or while she was trying to get sleep at night. And she was fed up with Hawk Moth after akumatizing so many children. It wasn’t right. Stubborn as she was, she was attempting to search for his miraculous via the tracking device on her compact part of the yoyo. So far no luck, which was unfortunate. Yet, she knew that if he wasn’t transformed, then he wouldn’t be found.

    “Of course this would be the first night in two weeks that he wouldn’t attempt to akumatize someone.” She thought to herself out loud. Sighing in defeat, she thought she would patrol the city, just to be proactive with at least something. Her feet lead her across the rooftops, not really paying any attention to where she was going. Silently hoping that he would transform for weird late-night activities just so that she could find the miraculous via tracking. She looked around, sitting on top of a lampost, wondering if there were any people out at this time of night. Huffing, she jumped into the air, heading onto the roof of another building. She glanced at her yoyo, nothing. It was silent. Especially without Cat’s constant punning. She missed her silly Cat, but she also enjoyed the peacefulness of her city she loved so much. As she walked across the rooftop, she prepared her yoyo to swing to another roof across the road. Once she figured it was a solid grip, she launched herself through the air, relishing the feel of the wind blowing her pigtails and stray hairs around her face, landing with a very solid thump on the roof. She paused, looking from this standpoint at the city before her. It was quiet over here, more than usual. There was no traffic, foot or motorized. No sounds of insects or animals either. Odd. Opening her yoyo, she jotted down her coordinates and a small note about the situation, deciding that keeping track of the oddities would be a good thing to do. She hadn’t been alerted about Hawkmoth so she didn’t think it could be an Akuma. But was there even a way to genuinely be able to detect if Hawkmoth was transformed or not?

    The sound of bells off in the distance startled her out of her train of thought, looking around she felt like someone was watching her. Walking across the roof, she pulled up the Ladyblog on her yoyo, checking to see if Alya was up and filming her. Looking up, she judged the distance between the buildings, figuring that the blog could load while she jumped forward. As her feet landed, her enhanced hearing picked up on something that sounded like feet. Surveying the area, she didn’t see anyone or anything. Not even a bird or bat. Strange. She looked down at the blog, seeing that the most recent update was a few hours earlier when she was telling about the latest discovery on the Ladybug she found, one from Egypt but on the Cat Noir of the time. As Ladybug looked up to judge where she would have to go next, the world around her went blank and she lost all of her scenes. She tried to move but was paralyzed, she felt the yoyo be taken from her hand and attached the hip before a sharp pain entered her body and consciousness was no longer her current state.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little prolog/preface! Who do you think is behind everything? 
> 
> I'm still low-key trying to get used to how this site works, so forgive me for things that are oddly placed! Anyways, I've created a discord area for this story! Feel free to check it out! It includes fun little things like songs that inspire it, updates about when I'm working, as well as some of my other stories! https://discord.gg/f7bfrdr  
> If you want to be a beta for this story or any of mine, you'll be able to find information here for that! Thank you once more for reading my story! Please enjoy and leave feedback! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I get when I see there's any interaction with my stories.
> 
> Also, follow me at [dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr](https://dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr.com/) my Miraculous Tumblr, I'll be posting updates there and also reblogging some of my favorite stuff (one of which is [PerditaAlottachocolate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerditaAlottachocolate/pseuds/PerditaAlottachocolate) who is brilliant and amazing and everyone should totally check out their stories! [ Spring Fever is my favorite at the moment -if not top favorite- so I'll just go ahead and link that one here as well! [Spring Fever](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18463310/chapters/43742240) ] Completly different than this tone of the story but it's super fluffy and amazing and humorous. I love it. I'm not gonna lie, I've read it like 3 times the past two months?) Along with a lot of really cool comics and ideas!


	2. Feel So Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a ally, Alya is surprised at who it is. But, when truth comes to a halt and lies are told, who is going to believe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to my beta reader [Shaladaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaladaze) for reading this chapter!  
> Yes, I am very well aware that this chapter has been out and published for a couple of months now, but at least I've gotten it cleaned up!

Marinette looked at the doors to the school, dread sinking inside of her at the thought of having to face the class once more. All the stuff that happened with Lila when she was Chamelion was… upsetting. Even before she was re-akumatized, the results of the lies were getting out of hand. Gentle pressure on her shoulder alerted her to someone at her side. Looking up, she saw two emerald eyes gazing down at her with an encouraging smile.

“Morning, Marinette.” Adrien spoke gently, smiling at her with a knowing gleam about him.

“M-Morning Adrien.” She sighed, feeling herself deflate just a little. “I wonder what lies will be spread today.” She darted her eyes up at him, wondering what his reaction would be, based on the conversation they’ve had since the fateful day Lila came back to school.

“I think we should try and start more positive than that. What truth will she tell in the midst of her lies?” He raised a perfect eyebrow, looking at her quizzically, almost as if he was questioning himself. “But, at least you and I will know the truth.”

“But it isn’t fair. Spreading around lies that can be quite… demeaning to individuals that are affected by it in ways they won’t want to admit to!” Marinette exhaled, tossing her hands in the air before allowing them to swing by her legs. “But I guess we have to let her dig herself into the hole.”

“Exactly. We don’t want to be at fault for something that is her doing.” Adrien reasoned with her, causing Marinette to pout. 

“Still isn’t fair.” She reached up to grip onto the straps of her backpack as both pairs of eyes drifted to where the triple ponytail haired girl was ‘greeting’ their classmates and passing out ‘souvenirs’ from Australia.

“No, it isn’t.” Adrien frowned, shaking his head before taking a step up the stairs. “Come on, let’s get our seats.” A gentle coaxing smile was lead by his hand motioning her forward. Marinette nodded, sighing as she climbed the stairs, passing Lila who was pausing in her gift-giving to glare at the both of them.

“Has she threatened you?” Marinette asked as they headed to the locker room.

“Lila? No. Why?” Adrien asked, his hand resting on his backpack gently.

“Just wondering.” Marinette furrowed her eyebrows, looking forward as they walked, not looking at Adrien. He didn’t press on, deciding that for now it would be best left to their own secluded thoughts about everything. She chewed on her bottom lip as they walked, both becoming enveloped into their own thoughts. She had questioned everything about the entire situation this morning with what Adrien had told her. They waved gently before departing to their separate lockers, unlocking and unpacking their backpacks for the supplies they would need. Marinette quickly at all the photos of Adrien she had in her locker before stuffing them quickly into her backpack, pulling out some pictures she had printed off of her and her friends, Adrien appearing in a few of them. The locker room began filling up as students came in to ready themselves for the classes before lunch.

“Hey, girl. I didn’t see you come in.” Alya spoke, placing a hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Adrien and I’ve been here for a little while.” Marinette shrugged, speaking softly.

“Oh? Since when did you and Adrien start cozying up?” Alya asked, a smirk evident on her face as she extended a hip and rested her hand on it. Marinette looked at her through the corner of her eye, shutting her locker with a sigh before turning to face Alya head-on.

“Since the day we got our normal seats back. He’s been the only one to believe me this entire time.” Marinette explained tiredly, already knowing Alya was going to accuse her of only disliking the girl because of ‘her putting the moves on Adrien’. 

“What do you mean the only one to believe you?” Arms crossed over the brunette's chest with a frown.

“All the lies that Lila is telling.” Marinette’s gaze traveled across the locker room to look at everyone that was engrossed into the ‘gifts’ that Lila had brought back from her recent trip.

“Oh girl, you have to move on from all of that! I’ve got footage of Ladybug saving Lila, and you don’t know her personal life to be able to know if she’s actually going on trips or not. You shouldn’t be so hung up on her anymore since Adrien is ‘believing’ you like you said.”

“Alya, it’s so much more than that!” Marinette let out an exasperated breath. “Please, can we just not talk about her?” She asked, her eyes pleading before looking away. “One way for you to get me to stop talking about her is if you stop talking about it.”

“Ugh fine. So, tell me more about you and Adrien snuggling up?” Alya smirked, nudging her with her own elbow. “I want all the deets.” 

“I just… I don’t know. Honestly. When Lila was last akumatized, I think me and Adrien kinda just connected?” Marinette explained, waving her hands around gently.  “But when we sat in the back, he kinda seemed to enjoy sitting with me.” A light pink tint blossomed over her cheeks.

“Well, looks like he may like you. I can ask Nino to get some inside information if you want me to.” Alya winked at her best friend, looping her arm through hers before leading them to their classroom. 

“Oh, no. You don’t have to do that!” Marinette waved quickly, hoping that they wouldn’t cause a big scene about it.

“Don’t worry girl. I got you.” Alya winked as they entered the classroom. “Did you complete the homework?” She asked as they arrived to their respective seats.

“Actually yes, I did complete my homework.” Marinette stuck her tongue out at her best friend, glad for the playful banter between the two of them. Slowly, the class filled in, heading to their seats. Laughter brought her attention to the door to see Nino and Adrien laughing at something on Adrien’s phone.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a Cat Noir meme dude.” Nino patted Adrien’s back as they separated to sit down.

“A funny meme is a funny meme, especially if that includes a pun!” Adrien chuckled, signing and putting his phone away.

“So, boys, did you finish your homework?” Alya asked, leaning over the desk to look at them.

“Yeah, though I did get stuck on one of them,” Nino explained. “The question about the past, present, and future symbolism in that story we read.”

“Yeah, that was a tricky one. I just explained on that one that the differences between certain events that we're told that could have been considered foreshadowing.” Adrien explained, getting out his homework to show Nino. Marinette had just finished taking her homework and stuff out when the teacher entered the classroom.

“Good Morning everyone!” She said cheerfully.

“Morning Ms. Bustier!” Everyone chorused back to their beloved teacher.

“I hope everyone is doing well today. Before I ask you to turn in your homework, I want everyone to greet their seat partner with a lovely compliment.” She smiled from the front of the class. Marinette turned to face Alya, thinking about what to compliment her friend on today.

“Marinette, you have such a generous nature about you. It’s refreshing to see.” Alya smiled at her, pushing up her glasses as she waited for hers.

“Alya, you are a great babysitter, I’ve seen with Manon and the twins. You have a great aspect about yourself when you are around them!”

“I do try.” Alya winked playfully before the girls dissolved into giggles. Everyone was calming down and facing front as she began talking about the lecture for the day, the students beginning to jot down notes as they deemed appropriate. Off to the side, Marinette designed little doodles in the margins of her paper, possible ideas for Tikki, if Tikki would ever want to wear anything. She needs to talk to her later about it. Taking a page on the side, she began jotting down ideas for designs for all of her friends. Alya, Mylène, Alix, Julika, Rose, and even thinking about some stuff for Kim and Max. What would look good with their skin complexion, their personal style taken into consideration, everything? She could easily create more gifts for them, for their birthdays and Christmas gifts. There was ample time to gather the things and supplies for it. She just had to get measurements really. The class flew by once she continued to jump from taking notes to jotting down design ideas. Smiling she looked around the classroom, thinking about how she should create a list of who all she’s created for and what she needs to do next. Her eyes landed on the certain blonde heartthrob in front of her, causing a blush to rise on her cheeks. He didn’t need to know she’s got the majority of his future 45 Christmas and birthday presents already completed. She should really re-consider that. 

“Alright Class, I hope you have a great lunch break and I will see you back in a little while!” Ms. Bustier called out happily, clapping her hands to show an extra length that their day was over with. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was four pages on Word Document, but it seems oddly short on here. Eh, it's just the beginning, so I gotta get these filler chapters out before I can actually start the meaty plot part. Nonetheless, I hope yall enjoyed this!
> 
> I'm still low-key trying to get used to how this site works, so forgive me for things that are oddly placed! Anyways, I've created a discord area for this story! Feel free to check it out! It includes fun little things like songs that inspire it, updates about when I'm working, as well as some of my other stories! https://discord.gg/f7bfrdr  
> If you want to be a beta for this story or any of mine, you'll be able to find information here for that! Thank you once more for reading my story! Please enjoy and leave feedback! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I get when I see there's any interaction with my stories.
> 
> Also, follow me at [dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr](https://dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr.com/) my Miraculous Tumblr, I'll be posting updates there and also reblogging some of my favorite stuff (one of which is [PerditaAlottachocolate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerditaAlottachocolate/pseuds/PerditaAlottachocolate) who is brilliant and amazing and everyone should totally check out their stories! [ Spring Fever is my favorite at the moment -if not top favorite- so I'll just go ahead and link that one here as well! [Spring Fever](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18463310/chapters/43742240) ] Completly different than this tone of the story but it's super fluffy and amazing and humorous. I love it. I'm not gonna lie, I've read it like 3 times the past two months?) Along with a lot of really cool comics and ideas!


	3. Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Tikki is asleep, asleep. Tikki is asleep, asleep.)  
> I can’t sleep most of the time  
> Try to cancel you from my mind  
> Never liked you that much anyway  
> Like to try to sleep through to Saturday  
> Can’t seem to keep my eyes shut  
> Can’t stop to think about   
> Who You Are, Hawkmoth.
> 
> Lyrics (mostly) by The Veronicas.

Something wasn't adding up and it was irritating Marinette. Adrien said the book belonged to his dad. So why wasn't his dad still a suspect as Hawkmoth? Cause he was akumatized as Collector. But Hawkmoth never talked to him. That in itself was strange. She paused with her homework in front of her, setting the pencil down and leaning back in the chair.

“Huh.” Marinette said softly, pulling on her lower lip with her teeth. “I wonder.” Quickly, she flipped to a new page in her notebook and began a bullet list. 

“What are you doing Marinette?” Tikki asked, noticing the sudden change in her charge.

“Writing down a list of things that Gabriel Agreste and Hawkmoth has in common.” She explained to Tikki, who nodded and say down, nodding her head solemnly.

“Ok. What commonalities do you have so far?”

“So far, butterflies. It's all over the Gabriel logo. They also appear to be the same height.” She explained, recalling her times being around Gabrielle and on Hero's Day when Hawkmoth showed his face for the first time. “Same face structure. Hawkmoth and Gabriel are never seen at the same time, as in whenever there is a akuma that can communicate with Hawkmoth, Gabriel is not present.” Marinette begins to explain as she uses the pencil to point the points out to Tikki. “Adrien was taken during Hero’s Day by the Gorizilla who is his Bodyguard. Showing that he wants Adrien to be safe.”

“But during Grozilla, didn't he drop Adrien?” Tikki asked.

“Yes but did you notice that Gorizilla let me go after the butterfly outline on his face. To save Adrien.” Marinette explained, looking at Tikki who eyes just widened. 

“Oh wow….” She whispered. “Should we tell Master Fu?”

“Not yet. We need more solid proof.” Marinette narrowed her eyes causing her eyebrows to furrow. “Need more proof…” She whispered softly, nibbling on the eraser. 

“Well, what about some reasons he is not?” Tikki suggested. Nodding, she jotted down a bullet, thinking of what else to write.

“Hmmm. Eye colors are not the same.” She looked at the second one she write. “And Hawkmoth said that he had nothing to lose.” Her eyes looked towards Tikki. “That would mean to him, Adrien isn't important.” She felt the wetness on her cheeks before she realized what was going on. Tikki was attempting to wipe away tears she didn't realize she had shed.

“Shhh. It's ok Marinette.” Tikki whispered. “There is still a chance…” she trailed off, realizing that the chance is smaller than either of them had first realized. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Marinette curled up in her bed, Tikki sleeping on the pillow beside her. She couldn't fall asleep. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost 4:45 in the morning. She got the feeling she wouldn’t be getting any sleep before school that day. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and began scrolling through Pinterest looking for things that she could create for her friends. A few ideas that she could transform into something truly unique for each of her friends. It was a favorite pastime of hers. A wristlet would be great for Alya, one that was Ladybug themed would be perfect. Maybe even themed after the Ladyblog? Sneaking out of bed as to not disturb Tikki, she gathered some supplies that would be the biases for a idea about the design and shape of the wristlet. She made a few notes here and there, one being to make sure she had the right phone of Alya’s, but also to make it where she could go back to it another time and edit the size of it for it to be used even if she got a different phone. Making it adjustable would be a fantastic thing. And making it a unique addition to her list of items she’s created and could re-create with necessary adjustments. She studied her fabrics, deciding that none of them would work for this, she would have to stop by the shop later to find some new fabric. 

Well, she could at least move on to another project. Something for Nino would be a bag-case for his headphones. That away when he was in gym class or sleeping there would be a protective place for them. And so that Chris doesn’t get his hands on them either. The bag was going to be simpler project than the wristlet. Marinette just needed to figure out exactly how big the headphones were. But that didn’t exactly have to stop her from beginning the outline. She figured that a reversible bag could be pretty neat, so she would need two different patterns and fabric. She got up and headed to where her fabric was stored, more than the quick access by her desk. Opening the storage quietly, she peered inside. Finding a simple black cloth right off the bat settled the outer design problem. Now, for the inside, that’s where she should have fun with it. Nothing was catching her eye for the exciting bits, so she was going to have to check in the store when she went for Alya’s. She headed to where her thread was, looking for the closest match to the fabric in hand. Who knew there could be so many shades of black? Studying them as best as she could, she figured out which one was the closest shade. Setting down the required supplies, she began to thread her beloved machine with the black thread. It was soothing, the process of threading the machine was engraved in her. She could probably complete the task with her eyes closed. But eyes closed and a needle present was not a good idea. Time went by as she began laying out the pattern, making adjustments here and there where they were needed. A yawn overtook her body, showing her that ‘Hey, you’re tired enough to sleep now Marinette’. And with that cew, she completed the current task she was doing before heading up to her bed, plopping down as gently as she could as to not wake up her sleeping kwami.

“Marinette! Marinette! You’re going to be late for school again!” Her mother's voice rang out what felt like two seconds later. A large yawn engulfed Marinette as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m up Mamon!” She called out, stretching a arm above her before looking up out of her skylight. Did she sleep any?

“Alright! I have your breakfast and a few leftovers from yesterday's bakery in a basket for you to take to school. Keep an eye on the time!” Her mother's parting words rang throughout her sleepy loft.

“Did I get any sleep Tikki?” She asked her Kwami that was floating towards her, she seemed to have been gathering her stuff for the day.

“You were out when I woke up at 5.” She responded with a slight shrug. 

“Well, I went to bed around 4:30 I think…” Marinette mumbled more to herself than to Tikki, climbing out of bed and starting to get ready for school. Honestly, if her insomnia got worse, she could probably just stay in the same clothes if they weren’t dirty. Apply fresh coat of deodorant and a few squirts of perfume and that would make a few of things a lot quicker when she’s not had any sleep. She pushed the idea to the back of her mind as she finished getting ready, rinsing her mouth out before heading down the stairs to where the gifts her mother had called about were left. 

“Thank you!” She called down into the bakery as she left for school, hurrying across the street and up the stairs. At least she was going to probably get there in time. She took the first step into the classroom when the bell rang, a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she sat down next to Alya for the first round of classes to begin. Her eyes drifted from the board to her notebook, seeing that her notes were following the lesson, she began doing doodles on the side of the paper, thinking about measurements and when she’d be able to go to her fabric shop. She made a mental note to ask Nino for his headphones once class was over with. Her attention to the class was drawn back when Lila was explaining how she and Ladybug had been hanging out the day before, how this was relevant to the class Marinette didn’t know.

“So in a way, you could say Ladybug is my best friend. And with her knowing the inside scoop about the Akumas and how to defeat them, you can try and figure out how to make a foreshadowing thought process with the information regarding the lucky charm and her spots left on the earrings.” She was explaining, causing Marinette to roll her eyes. She was most definitely not best friends with the fake fox. Marinette tuned out the liar and resumed on the list she started the day before about gifts for her friends.

“Wonder what the inside scoop is about the akumas…” Alya mumbled to her best friend. Scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

“Do you really think that Lila is best friends with Ladybug? Chloe has always said she was Ladybug’s best friend.” Marinette whispered back to the reporter, not looking up from a sketch she had started to design for Rose.

“But that’s Chloe. We all know she’s a major fangirl. Although not as major as Adrien. But there’s been numerous sightings of Lila with Ladybug.” Alya peered over her shoulder at the design.

“And so has Alix, Adrien, Nathaniel, even you.” Marinette’s eyes shot towards her best friend. “Just being spotted with Lila” even though none of them were actually her. “Does not mean that she is her best friend.” Marinette sighed, expraserated. This caused Alya to shrug.

“Well, a good reporter always checks out all the sources.” She explained, a odd glint in her eye. “Besides, Chat Noir is probably Ladybugs true best friend.” She snickered. “Poor boy. Ladybug won’t give him the time of day though.”

“She does!” Marinette said a little bit above a whisper. “She values him and wouldn’t be where she was today if it was not for him. They are a team, partners. That is a perfect reason as to why he is her best friend AND that she does value his friendship even if she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.” Marinette scoffed, leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms.

“Mmm. Sounds to me like you ship LadyNoir.” Alya smirked, nudging her best friend with her shoulder. Ahead of the two best friends, a certain blonde haired boy was blushing, causing his ears to turn a slight red tint. 

“I do not.” Marinette shook her head. “Be quiet, I’m trying to pay attention to the lesson.” Her response caused a snicker to escape her best friend.

“Sure, Marinette.” She spoke with a shake of her head as she compared the notes on the board to her paper. Marinette chose not to respond, not wanting to dig herself into a deeper hole. What she said was the truth and there was no arguing that. She did not ship herself with Chat, nor did she not value him. You could be bestfriends with a guy and not have any fuzzy feelings towards him. Besides, her heart was reserved for the blonde in front of her. 

 

* * *

  
  


Lunch went without a hitch. Almost. As Marinette was headed back to the school from devouring some fresh goods from the bakery, a akuma had appeared out of nowhere. Groaning, she quickly jumped behind a bush, other people were scattering in more odd places, she quickly transformed, crawling a few bushes down before swinging into the Paris skyline. Landing on top of a building a few blocks away, she surveyed the area.

“I am Caffined!” A booming voice alerted the city, shooting up into the sky on a… coffee cup? Ladybug shook her head, jumping and running across the rooftops to try and get closer to the akuma. She looked across the street to see Chat Noir jump up from between two buildings, running along and saluting to her before they continued to run towards the akuma. “There is never too much caffeine! If I demand more, I get more!” He shouted, pointing a straw cannon at citizens of Paris. Once a blast of brown light struck them, they seemed very energized. Great. Chat really didn’t need to be hit with that light. As they stopped and arrived at a meeting point to discuss the game plan, she watched Caffined refill his cup before blasting down the street a little.

“Hope I’m not to latte.” Chat smirks, landing beside her. Oh great. Already with the puns.

“Avoid getting shot by the beam of light, please.” Ladybug looked at him, a exasperated expression on her face.

“Sure, sure, my’lady.” He bows, watching the akuma. “I think his akuma is in that straw of his.” He explains, observing the victim.

“Agreed. Now, just how to get to it. If we could somehow get him to slow down, you could easily cataclysm the straw and I’d be able to get back to school on time.” Ladybug mumbled, her eyebrows stitching together under her mask.

“Will do. Maybe your charm is just what the brew needs to be the perfect blend.” He winked, his smile widening. “Ok. That wasn’t my best one. Sorry.” He spoke with a shrug, hands flying up by his head. 

“Just go distract him.” Came her reply as she grabbed her yoyo from her belt, getting ready to toss it into the air and call upon her lucky charm. Hope flared in her chest that it would be over soon as a bag of coffee grounds landed in her hand. She raised a hidden eyebrow, looking over it, on the front in big bold letters it said ‘Decaf’. How exactly would decaf work? It was still coffee even though it wasn’t caffeinated. And it didn’t have anything in it to put people to sleep with. Looking around, she tried to find clues to piece together a seemingly contradicting puzzle. 

“What’s our creamer for this blend, buggaboo?” Chat called out as he bounced from a light post to a car, ducking behind it as the flash of light shot through the window.

“I’m trying to figure that out!” She exclaimed, looking around to see a floral shop with a herb section. “I got it!” She called out and gestured him over, Caffined needing to refill his storage.

“What’s the plan?” He asked, standing on guard as she looked through the herbs. “Can I just say, Buggaboo, that you mocha me very happy!” He said with a smirk, glancing over his shoulder at her.

“Shut up. And the lucky charm was a bag of decaf coffee”

“Decaf?”

“And so what’s going to happen is I’m making a signature blend of sleepy herbs to hopefully make Caffined a little drowsy.”

“But it doesn’t appear to go through him.”

“That’s a part when you come in. You’ll get close to him, make him think he’s got you. Just as he shoots the light at you, you duck and the beam rickashays off of the mirror of that car’s side view mirror and onto him. Then you can cataclysm his straw.” Ladybug explained the plan quickly, eyes searching the area. “I’ll use the mirror to reverse the beam.” He nodded as she finished adding the herbs to the grounds.

“Lavender and Chamomile?” He checked, sniffing the bag.

“You’re good with your herbs, tomcat, aren’t ya?” Ladybug smirked at him with a knowing giggle, before nodding.

“What can I say? A cat doesn’t just have nine lives but also a keen sense of smell.” He winked before jumping to distract the akuma. Rolling her eyes, Ladybug went through the shadows around the building, going up behind Caffined and pouring the mixture into the coffee pot backpack he had. A thumbs up to Chat let him know it was game time. Quickly, as he started the plan, she ran to get the mirror that would be used to bounce the light back against him.

“Once I’ve blasted that barista with my blast, I’ll get your miraculous!” Caffined yelled at Chat, reaching for him.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have any luck with that. My brew-ti-ful partner is already a step ahead of you!” Chat Noir calls out, smiling as he heard a groan from where Ladybug was. 

“Enough with the puns! I’ll make you so energized you won’t be able to think straight! So no more puns!!” Caffined let out loudly, lifting the straw and aiming it towards Chat Noir. He released a dark brown colored light, that grew lighter as it transported through the air. Chat leaped up and out of the way, casusin the beam of light to hit right in the middle of the mirror Ladybug was holding. “Nooo!” Caffined yelled, turning and trying to escape his beam when it failed and slung him in the neck. “Hah!” He called, looking at the superhero duo. “You just gave me more energy!” He turned with his fists extended by his hips, awaiting to embrace the ‘energy’ he thought he would be consuming.

“Have I ever told you my lady, you’re the cream to my coffee.” Chat slung his arm around her shoulders only to have her shrug it off.

“Really? Enough of the puns Chat.” She said as she watched Caffeined slowly drop his arms to regular stature by his side, his blinking slow. “Alright. Action time.” She said, nodding to Chat Noir as he called upon his special power, running towards him and swiping the straw, making it break in half and a dark butterfly flew out from the broken parts. She swung her yoyo, capturing the akuma and purifying it.

“Bye-bye little butterfly.” She said, grabbing the now empty bag of decaf and tossing it in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” She called out, the bag dissolving into ladybugs and spreading around Paris, returning people back to normal. Her earrings beeped, warning her she had two minutes left. “Chat, do you think you can take care of him? I’m about to transform back.” He nodded, extending his fist.

“Pound it!” They said excitedly, jumping and separating their ways. She jumps and lands on the roof, looking around and figuring she should just head on to school and detransform there while she could. She could easily drop down, and claim she’s fallen again. One side of being a klutz, falling is normal for her. She arrived at the school, looking around before jumping onto the second floor, entering the library and one of the corners where no one was and releasing her transformation. Straightening herself, she exited the room, looking around to completely make sure she was alone before completely exiting the room and heading to the locker, waving at Alya as she arrived.

“Hey!” She said happily. The interactions with Chat Noir had brightened her mood a little, even through the puns. “Did you get the homework done for Ms. Mendeleiev class?” She asked.

“Yeah, almost. I didn’t answer one question because I couldn’t figure it out.” Alya explained, slinging her backpack over her shoulder so that they could head to class. “You?” She asked.

“Yeah, all of them! I couldn’t sleep last night so I ended up finishing it.” Which wasn’t a complete lie.

“Awesome. Could you help me with the question?” Alya asked as they linked arms and headed towards Ms. Mendeleiev class.

“Of course!” Marinette smiled happily at her best friend. “Why would I let my best friend suffer over a question that I completed.” She winked causing Alya to laugh, shaking her head. 

“Good. I may wish that Ladybug is my best friend, but you are my forever bff.” She stated with a smile at Marinette. “I mean, for one, you both do so much good for people, you both have the same hairstyles.” Alya trailed off for a moment thinking. “But you are most definitely more clumsy than she is!” Oh the irony of this. “Adrien was right when he called you our Everyday Ladybug. You really are. Man, you could probably cosplay her really well! Like in the music video for Clara Nightingale!”

“Yeah? Well maybe I’ll be Ladybug for Halloween.” Marinette snickered. “I’ve got plenty of time to create the perfect costume.” Or she could just transform. But that wouldn’t work out for her favor if there wasn’t a akuma around.

“Oh girl, I would love for you to make one for both of us!”

“Oh really?” A smirk played on Marinette’s lips. “And here I thought that you’d do a good Rena Rogue cosplay.” Alya paused before laughing.

“What makes y-you think that?” Her eyes shifted sideways.

“You two look alike is all.” She shrugs.

“Well, if we were playing the roles of best friends, I’d be more fitting to be Chat Noir.” Alya covered herself quickly. If only the girl knew.

“Maybe I want to be Chat? You’d be such a better Ladybug than I would be.” They entered the class and went to their seats, starting to gather the materials needed for class. Adrien and Nino came in a few minutes behind, laughing as usual at something. Marinette watched them both, glad she had asked Nino earlier for the measurements. Adrien abruptly stopped before he turned to his chair to bend down and tie his shoe… Which was his typical orange Gabriel brand shoe. But something caught her eye and brought back flashbacks. His shoe had a butterfly shape on it. Why, in the world, would Gabriel include the logo butterflies? It didn’t make much sense. It was a logo before his wife disappeared so it couldn’t be in honor of her. She remembered that it was similar to the shape of the Moth miraculous, remembering from the book that Master Fu had. The realization struck her deeply, trying to piece together the little fragments of what was left to clarify that Gabriel Agreste, the father of Adrien Agreste her classmate and love of her life, to not be Hawkmoth. It wasn’t fitting together anymore. More and more reasons were appearing for him to  _ be _ Hawkmoth instead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you guys would want a link to the YouTube playlist for this story, holler at me and I'll see what I can pull up here. I hope you guys enjoy this! It's been really fun to write this chapter, especially exploring Marinette's talents! Have you guys noticed that the chapter ~somewhat~ revolves or catches inspiration from the titles? That their based on songs?   
> If so, comment on the chapters if you know the songs! I'm intrigued to know from yall what you all think.   
> As always, thank you for reading! I greatly appreciate it and hope to post more soon! Let me know in the comments, kudos, bookmark/subscribe, and whatnot. I'll be posting on my miraculous Tumblr (or trying to) about the chapter updates for my stories! Have a amazing day tomorrow and I wish you luck!


	4. The Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I breathe in hard  
> Don't speak, 'cause it's like a bitter pill  
> You blow my mind  
> You make my heart beat  
> Faster, faster, faster, faster, fast  
> The echoes of that news ring loud  
> It breaks my heart  
> It breaks my heart into  
> A million pieces, oh  
> It breaks my heart into  
> A million pieces
> 
> Lyrics from Bastille

     Marinette looked around the courtyard, seeing all her friends with a crush or boyfriend/girlfriend. Sighing to herself, she knew she had to give Adrien some space, he had been cozying up to Kagami lately and genuinely seemed happy with her. Marinette needed to take a moment and allow herself to have some fun also. She had planned on going to the fair with Alya and Nino, but she didn’t want to be a third wheel. So why not ask her friends all go and just so happens to be group dates? Taking a deep breath, she approached Adrien and Kagami with shaky hands. Heart pounding, she wasn’t prepared for basically setting her future-husband with a picture-perfect girl who was perfect in almost every way. Well, more perfect than she-herself was. At least Kagami didn’t drop everything at the slight of a hat. Or create a hat that her love was allergic to. Smiling as she finally approached the two, she waved at them.

    “Hey guys.”

    “Hey Marinette!” Adrien spoke chipper as always.

    “Hello Marinette.” Kagami nodded, eyes squinting at her, she obviously saw how Marinette fumbled around Adrien and could add two and two together.

    “So, are you guys doing anything day after tomorrow?” Marinette asked, intertwining her fingers in front of her abdomen, nerves causing her to wring her fingers.

    “Uh. Nothing to my knowledge.” Kagami said, a perfect eyebrow raised.

    “I don’t think I have anything after an 8am photoshoot. What’s up?” Adrien then raised a perfect eyebrow.

   “Well, Alya, Nino and I were going to go to the fair and I didn’t want to be a third wheel, so I figured I’d invite everyone. Kinda like a mega-group date?” Marinette explained.

    “And who all would be going on this ‘mega-group date’ thing?” Kagami asked, air quotes around mega-group date.

    “Well,” Marinette brought her fingers up, scrunching her index fingers together then separate them before pushing them together once more. “Nino and Alya, Ivan and Mylène, Juleka and Rose, Luka and I, Kim and Undine, and you two if you would like that.” Marinette explained, looking at them with eyes that seemed to be pleading. The two in question shared a look, with a shrug between them.

    “I can see what I can do, if you would like to go?” Adrien asked Kagami, looking at her with a gentle smile. “I think it would be fun.” She looked between Adrien and herself, thinking awfully hard about it.

    “And you’ll be with Luka?” Kagami asked Marinette with a slight nod of her head. Marinette in healed deeply before looking up at Kagami.

    “Yeah. I will be.” She needed to  _ actually _ ask Luka.

    “Then yes, I will go with Adrien.” A slight blush arose on Kagami’s cheeks, causing Marinette’s heart to drop into her stomach.

    “Ok cool! I’ll go share the news.” Marinette smiled at them before turning away, heading to find Alya and the girls. She felt a comforting push against her leg, Tikki trying to comfort her as best as possible. Why did she do this to herself? But then again, Luka was a nice guy. They had a lot in common. And after Silencer, with the words Luka had said to her not once, but twice. That’s a good indication that she should at least give him another chance. Not let her love for Adrien get in the way of being happy with someone else, especially when someone as perfect as Kagami was interested in Adrien. They even fenced together! Sparring partners. And their parents knew each other and seemed to be in some kind of deal together already. It’s only a matter of time before Kagami and Adrien pose together for Gabriel clothes. She rounded the entrance to the locker room and saw Alya talking to Nino.

    “Hey, Alya, can I steal you for a minute and go find Mylène?” Marinette asked with a pained smile. Alya shared a look with Nino, clearly seeing the discomfort in the smile Marinette attempted to present as happy.

    “Yeah, of course girl. I’ll see you in class Nino.” Alya kissed his cheek before she takes Marinette’s hand and head towards the girls’ bathroom. “Do you really need Mylène?” She whispers.

    “Kinda?” Marinette managed, her eyes zoning out ever so slightly, seeming to distance herself from the moment at hand and the reality she just created for herself.

    “Well, it seems like that’ll have to wait for now.” Alya spoke, looking at her best friend with concern as they stepped into the bathroom, going and standing in front of Marinette, hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

    “Nothing. I just invited Adrien and Kagami to go to the fair with us and Luka. I need to talk to Mylène and Ivan, Juleka and Rose, oh! I should also invite Nathaniel and Marc. I also said that Kim and Undine were invited also.”

    “Marinette, breathe!” Alya interrupted her best friend. “Stop talking for a moment and take a deep breath.” Marinette nodded and followed the instructions from her best friend. “Now, why did you invite everyone?” Once again Marinette’s fingers pulled up into the inching snail position.

    “Because I didn’t want to be a third-wheel to you and Nino.” She avoided her best friends gaze. “And I wanted to hang out with a lot of my friends. And Adrien so happens to be a friend and he’s been getting awfully friendly with Kagami lately, so I invited them as a duo. And I’ll have Luka for my duo.” Marinette explained, refusing to look at Alya. “But it’s fine, really.” Marinette smiled gently, finally looking at Alya.

    “Are you sure girl?”

    “Yes. I mean, this is one way I will get to spend more time with him also.” She explained to her. “To strengthen our friendship.”

    “If you are sure, Marinette.” Alya says with a slight shrug of a shoulder, crossing her arms as worry creased her eyebrows. 

    “Yeah,” Marinette put on her best smile. “I am.” She went over to her best friend, linking arms with her before heading out and towards their class. “So, any new dish on Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Marinette hopped that the bait would allow the change in subject. With a raised eyebrow, Alya followed Marinette’s lead, unsure of what just occurred.

    “Well, at the moment just some theories of my own. Nothing unusual has occurred during the attacks besides the akuma’s being unusual themselves. I have an interview setup with someone to discuss what it’s like to have been saved by them. What I really need to do is set up an interview with August’s mom.” Alya let a giggle escape her, covering her mouth with her free hand. “Poor baby keeps getting akumatized. When will Hawkmoth realize akumatizing a toddler is not the best idea?”

    “He’s not even a toddler!” Marinette laughed, shaking her head. “I do question Hawkmoth as to why he continues to akumitize poor little August.” She shakes her head as they arrive to the classroom, separating at the stairs so they can go up their respective sides. 

    “Maybe he just needs a babysitter so his mom can have a break.”

    “It’s always for a lollipop.” Adrien voiced from where he was sitting, turning to look at Alya and Marinette sitting down. “August, the baby, always wants a lollipop. But his mother keeps telling him no.” He shakes his head, for some reason he looked very exasperated. 

    “Why doesn’t his mom just give him a lollipop?” Nino asked, adjusting his hat.

    “Well, I can see it as a choking hazard for someone so young, especially if left unsupervised. Not to mention the sugar, now if it was sugar free it would be less of an issue then.” Marinette explained, tapping her chin. “So, I don’t understand why she doesn’t try and find something else for him to enjoy.” 

    “Age wise, I would say 3 or 4. That’s what Mom would tell Etta and Ella when they asked for one younger than that.” Alya explained, getting out her stuff for class as others start arriving in to class.

    “Then I agree with Marinette, why doesn’t she find him something else to have?” Adrien raised an eyebrow causing everyone to shrug.

    “If only we knew.” Marinette spoke softly, shaking her head. That would free up a lot of time that Chat Noir and her would be dealing with lately because of Gigantatitan. Maybe she’ll be able to get some homework done. She really needs to make sure her grades don’t slip again. They all look towards the front of the class when Mme. Bustier enters and greets the class. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


    Marinette had planned on talking to Mylène and Ivan about the fair coming up once classes were dismissed. She smiled when she saw them outside in the courtyard on a bench. Quickly heading over, Marinette waved upon arrival.

    “Hey guys!”

    “Hey Marinette, what can we do for you?” Mylène smiled at her, tilting her head.

    “Well, I was wanting to invite you two along to a group going to a fair as a group.” Marinette smiled at them two. “It’s basically going to be a giant date I believe because everyone’s going in pairs.” Ivan blushed as he looked down at his and Mylène’s intertwined hands.

    “Sounds fun. What do you think Ivan?” She looked over at him, her gentle amber eyes gazing upon Ivan.

    “Sounds fun as long as I’m with you.” Ivan replies, bringing up her hand to kiss it gently. Marinette’s heart bout exploded due to the cuteness.

    “Awesome! I’ll create a group chat so that we can all get on the same page about it and there won’t be much confusion.”

    “Even though you’ll probably still be late.” Mylène smiled at Marinette as she teased her friend gently.

    “Most likely, you know how I tend to be at these things.” Marinette blushed, waving the comment off, images of her as Ladybug dealing with akumas whenever she and the girls were meant to hang out flashed through her mind. “I’ll be surprised if I make it to my wedding on time.” Marinette laughed nervously.

    “You’ll probably be too worried about Adrien to remember that you have to walk down the aisle.” Ivan said softly, his eyes on Mylène but the comment was clearly dedicated to Marinette.

    “Uh hah- uHm. You’re probably r-right Ivan. Anyways, I’ll um let you guys enjoy your lunch break, yeah. I’ll be headed to the bakery.” Marinette finger gunned towards them two as she began backing up, awkwardly fumbling over her feet as she did so, turning and lowering her head as she headed towards the doors.

    “Don’t forget to create the group chat thing!” Mylène called out causing Marinette to throw up a thumbs up hand gesture letting her know that she, did indeed, get the message. Marinette stepped outside and looked towards her home, thinking suddenly about going and seeing Master Fu, maybe talking to him about the issue of Hawk Moth probably being Adrien’s dad would help her decide what to do. She headed to her home to pick up some deserts and a set of sandwiches to offer Master Fu, bringing along snacks shouldn’t be a bad idea. It would also give Marinette a distraction so that she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye when she brought this up again. 

    Before she forgot, she pulled out her phone, starting to set up a group chat with her and her friends for the fair. Scrolling through the contacts, she realized she forgot to ask Juleka, Rose and Luka. They were typically all three together at Juleka’s place so Marinette decided she could stop by there before visiting Master Fu. Clicking the button to complete the making of the group chat, she nodded to herself, quickly typing up a message for those in the chat to know what that was about. She locked her phone, sliding it in her purse. She looked to see Tikki sleeping, curled up with a chocolate cookie. Warmth swelled in Marinette’s heart for the affection she held to her kwami. Tikki had turned into truly one of her best friends. So had Chat, which made her think about how she really needed to talk to Fu so that she could discuss it with Chat also. Well, maybe they should have a meeting, but having Tikki and Plagg present would be beneficial also. 

    Arriving to her home, she entered the bakery and waved to her parents who were busy waiting on customers. She rounded the back and headed up to their home. Once she arrived in the kitchen, she began making some sandwiches and grab some previous day pastries. Humming a Jagged Stone song, she finished up the items for Master Fu and added everything into a brown bag, grabbing a separate one for the pastries to leave with Juleka. She looked down to check on Tikki to see she was still snoozing. Marinette turned and headed down the stairs, waving and saying bye to her parents, making sure not to disturb them as they were tending to customers. 

         The walk to the Couffaines’ was short and nice, a gentle breeze blowing to allow the air not to be still. Arriving to the houseboat, Marinette paused on the plank.

"Juleka?" She called out. "Luka?" 

"Marinette! Welcome!" Their mom spoke, appearing out of nowhere before gesturing her to join her on the boat. "Come aboard! The mates are below deck! Go ahead and visit." She smiled, tipping her hat to Marinette before heading back to the captain's quarters. Marinette smiled and headed onto the sip, going down to where she knew Juleka would be. She could hear Luka strumming a guitar from somewhere on the boat. Entering Juleka’s room, she waved seeing that Rose was next to her, writing some stuff down.

"Hey Marinette! What are you doing here?" Juleka asked, tilting her head.

"I came to ask you two and Luka a question." Marinette explained before holding up their goodies. "I thought you guys would like some stuff from the bakery."

"Are you trying to bribe us for something, Marinette?" A cool voice sounded from where the door was. Turning her head, she saw Luka leaning against the door frame, a gentle smile on his lips as he looked at her.

"Not intentionally." Marinette laughed a little awkwardly, her cheeks tinting a slight bit. 

"Well, what was the question?" Rose asked, coming up to investigate the bag. "Oooh! Strawberry! My favorite. Thank you, Marinette." Rose gave her a side hug, which she happily returned.

"Of course, Rose. And I was thinking of a mega group date?" Marinette shrugged one shoulder as she held up her hand. "I've already asked Mylene and Ivan, Kagami and Adrien, Nino and Alya were the original two people besides me." She counted off with her fingers. "And I am still needing to ask Kim and Undine, Nathaniel and Marc, and yeah.." Marinette trailed off with a smile, dropping her hand to look at them. "I figured you two could go as a pair," She turned to look at Luka. "And you and I go as a pair." She explained. "If you guys want to of course." She looked among her friends, trying to resist the skip of her heart when she looked upon Luka who was smiling at her cheerily with a light blush on his cheekbones. 

"Oh! That sounds super fun!" Rose said excitedly, clapping best she could while holding her strawberry filled croissant.  

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Juleka spoke softly, a gentle smile on her lips as she nodded. Reaching into the bag to pull out the blueberry Danish. "Thanks for the danish, Marinette. Blueberry is my favorite." 

"Of course, Juleka." Marinette smiled happily at her before turning to Luka. "I didn't know your favorite treat, so I picked a macaroon for you." She smiled simply at him, offering the bag. "I'll add you guys to the group chat. But I've got to run for now." Marinette explained as she began to head out.

"I'll walk you out, Marinette." Luka spoke softly and the gentleness carried up to his eyes.

"O-Ok. See you girls later." Marinette waved back to Rose and Juleka before turning and following Luka out.

"Thank you for inviting me Marinette." He looked down at her with a sweet smile. 

"Yeah! Of course. I figured after the ice-skating adventure, this would be fun also." She smiled up at him. "So, it's like a… date. If you want it to be, of course!" Marinette spoke quickly, feeling her cheeks warmed up at the mention of the d word.

"It will be an honor to accompany you, Marinette. I know with your melody; it'll inspire my harmony." He rested a hand on her shoulder, approaching the staircase. "Thank you, I'm excited for our date." He leaned down and kissed her cheek gently, backing away slowly. "If you need anything, before then, don't hesitate to let me know." He smiled at her, warmth in his eyes.

"I will, Luka. Thank you." Marinette smiled at him. Gaining the courage, she wrapped her arms around his waist before pecking his cheek as she steps back. "Have a good day." She says happily with a blush before heading up the stairs and off the boat. 

"Wow Marinette! I'm so proud of you!" Tikki spoke up from popping her head from her purse.

"What for Tikki?" She asked, slightly puzzled as she looked down at her kwami. 

"You asked Luka out on a date! I find that as a big step for you. Cause even though you still like Adrien, you can recognize the chance for both of you to be happy with someone else." Tikkis’ eyes light up at the change in her charge. 

"Oh well thank you, Tikki." She sighs as she walks down the sidewalk, heading to Master Fu's. "I just hope some of the courage I had back there carries over to this conversation as well." Marinette sighs as she reaches to pull out her phone, adding the three to the group chat.

"I'll be there for you." Tikki patted Marinette's hand when she replaced the phone in her purse.

“Thank you, Tikki. At least you’ll be able to be out in the open at Master Fu’s.” Marinette thought out loud as they walked along the path. The air had a slight chill to it, or the wind, maybe it’ll storm later tonight. Glancing up at the sky, there wasn’t a cloud in sight. That didn’t shake the cold sensation that went around Marinette. The more she focused on it, the more it felt like she was being watched. Glancing around, she didn’t see anyone out of the ordinary. Everyone was minding their own business, going about their own errands and tasks. No one was paying attention to Marinette from what she could see. “Tikki, does it feel like someone’s watching us?” She whispered, her lips barely moving so people wouldn’t see her talking to ‘herself’.

“I do have a strange feeling, and I don’t like it.” Tikki responded, Marinette felt her shift deeper into her purse.

“Glad to know I’m not the only one.” She mumbled, looking around before continuing along her way. She didn’t go the normal way, opting to confuse anyone if they were indeed following her. Her heart was speeding by the time she arrived at Master Fu’s in what she felt like was safely. Nerves were high as she glanced around the street, seeing that she was alone, she quickly ducked down the side ally to head to Master’s back entrance. Once she had just gotten in the door, she left it cracked just to see if she could hear anyone. After waiting what seemed like five minutes, when it was probably only three, she heard what sounded like footsteps come to a pause. She held her purse closer to her hip, hiding the best she could behind the door, wondering who it was that had been following her. She felt Tikki’s movement as she phased out of the purse, Marinette didn’t watch to see what Tikki did, trusting her with whatever she was doing. The footsteps sounded as if they retreated, causing Marinette to fully close the door silently before leaning against it. She was being followed. But who was the perpetrator? Did Hawkmoth or Mayura find out her civilian identity? Or was it some guy that was going to mug her? None of the options were good. Taking a deep breath, she looked around for Tikki, not seeing her little kwami anywhere sent panic through Marinette.

“Tikki!?” She whispered-shouted for her dear friend, looking around as she did.

“Shh. I’m right here Marinette.” Tikki flew down from the ceiling, going and hugging Marinette’s cheek. “It’s ok. They're gone. I wanted to make sure you were safe. But we need to get to Master immediately.” Nodding in agreement, Marinette opened up her purse so that Tikki could fly back in without phasing before quickly heading up the stairs to Master’s home. She didn’t need to knock, for Master Fu had opened the door as she approached, gesturing her in quickly and shutting the door behind her quickly.

“Wayzz told me we were going to have a visitor.” He nodded to Marinette, a grave look on his face. “But when he felt Tikki’s appearance, it wasn’t right. She was distressed and he wanted to check it out. Are you ok Marinette? I’ve started a pot of tea.” She held her arms close to her, feeling shaky a bit.

“I am now that I’m here.” She mumbled, not wanting to look at Fu. Tikki flew out of her purse and kissed Marinette’s nose.

“We have something to share with you, Master.” Tikki spoke softly, turning around to bow to the master before resting on her charge’s shoulder.

“What would that be?” Master arched a fuzzy eyebrow as he stroked his beard.

“I think I figured out Hawkmoth’s identity.” Marinette said gravely as she sat the box of food on the table, opening it up to reveal the sandwiches. “I should’ve trusted my gut a long time ago. I have a list of facts between the two.” She began explaining as she sat down her backpack, taking out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Master Fu. “Gabriel Agreste.”

 


	5. Lethargy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strang Akuma causes a different twist on defeating it. Meanwhile, Ladybug is torn inside about pockets and how to tell Chat Noir about the conversation she had with Master Fu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [Shaladaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaladaze) for Beta reading. Please enjoy.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Do anything to escape it  
> Get up, get up, pressure, pressure  
> Runaway as fast as you can go  
> Every day our friends and lovers  
> Give the answers everybody knows  
> You told me not to be like anybody else  
> Headspin, happiness, death  
> Be like anybody else  
> Bowed down, nothing else left  
> You checked out years ago  
> Oh what I'd do to not to worry like you
> 
> Lethargy by Bastille

   Master Fu and Marinette were sitting at his table, looking at the evidence in front of them, unsure what their next move should be. Marinette knew in her heart she had to let Chat know about the situation. She knew it. She took a slow sip of tea, concentrating on how to bring this up to Master when a loud crashing noise followed by screams surged through the small parlor area. 

   “I believe that is your cue, Marinette,” Master spoke softly, eyes looking at her over his sandwich mid-bite. She nodded, bowing to Master once she had put the tea down.

   “I’ll be back.” She promised him with a nod before looking over to where Tikki and Wayzz were before calling her transformation. “Tikki, Spots On!” Pink light enveloped her before she did the Chat Noir two-finger salute to Master Fu before quickly exiting the home. Arriving at a good leverage point, Ladybug looked around, trying to figure out where the Akuma was located. Screams were her indication that it seemed to be near the Eiffel Tower. Launching into the air, she headed towards the landmark, the quickest way possible so she could figure out what the next move should be. That’s when a thought struck her. She could go find Hawkmoth, but where would he be? “Not the time.” She mumbled to herself, sticking with going and trying to take care of the Akuma first. 

   “Good afternoon, my lady.” Chat welcomed her on the scene, using his baton to shield himself from an attack. Ladybug jumped in to help, throwing and wrapping her yoyo around the woman with glowing red eyes, her hair was flowing in the air as if the wind was surging through it even though there was no wind. Black with neon red and green streaks throughout it. She would look over to show her teeth in irritation at Ladybug, revealing fangs that glistened in the sunlight. Behind her back was two swords, placed in a hold as she was holding a staff much like Chat’s. 

   “I am Scarlet Widow! I shall reclaim what is rightfully mine!” Scarlet Widow yelled, looking offended as Ladybug had dragged her away from Chat. She swung a leg up, wrapping it around the yoyo string to untie herself, freeing her arms then kicking her leg and sending Ladybug flying into a building.

   “Any ideas on what the akumatized object could be?” Ladybug asked her trusty partner, recovering from her collision effortlessly.

   “Unfortunately no. But she does have a wide range of weapons and theatrics.” As if to confirm his words, Scarlet Widow launched herself through the air before flipping onto the ground, dragging the swords out from their sheaths.

   “Give me your miraculous and I will leave ya alone while I take what is rightfully mine.” She stepped forward, swords ready to attack.

   “What is rightfully yours?” Chat asked, leaning on his staff as he watched her. He arched an ‘eyebrow’ as he looked at Ladybug. “Care to explain? Maybe we can help you get it back.” He says, trying to come off as friendly as possible to her.

   “Well. Are you sure?” She asked, tilting her head, hair falling over her shoulder. Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look before nodding to Scarlet Widow. “Ok. Well. Ya see,” a pink butterfly outlined came over her eyes, shaking her head before blinking them away to look at the superheroes that did not move. “Leave me alone Hawky. I’m trying to get my darlin’ back!” Scarlet Widow swatted at the outline before focusing on the heroes. “Nows, where was I?” She asked before cartwheeling down from her perch and coming to the heroes, twirling one of the swords in hand before tapping her chin with the other. “Oh yes, explaining what I was trying to get back.” 

   “Yes, how about we all put our weapons away, that way we can have a peaceful talk?” Ladybug suggested. Scarlet Widow thought about it for a moment, seeming to debate if it was actually a good idea or not.

   “You know what? Why not? I’ve got nothin’ to lose telling yous what I’ve lost.” She put the weapons in their holders, along with Ladybug and Chat. 

   “Do you wanna sit?” He asked, gesturing to the ground before them. With a nod, they all sat down in a semi-circle. This was super peaceful. Too good to be true. 

   “So, when I got home from school, moms and dads were fightin, ye see?” The more she talked, the more her words became… odd. The words sounding more chopped and carrying a strange accent. The hero nodded. “Dad was sayin’ he was done with this, he was done with that. Moma said she was done too. And that’s the reason why she gots rid of Pix. Pix was my favorite pet!” She explained, gruffing in some air before puffing the hair out behind her. 

   “They… They didn’t hurt you, right?” Chat asked which made something seem different about him when he asked that, causing fear to fly in Ladybug's chest. Did he speak from experience?

   “No.” She quipped, looking at her nails before staring at Chat dead in the eye, her nails slowly forming into claws. “But they took Pix away! Pixy was my friend! While moms and pops was worrying about work and if Johnny had food, they never played with me. Haven’t for years. That’s why I gots Pix.” The nails slowly stopped, forming a weird claw-pointer like an appendage. Most definitely not like Chats.

   “I’m very sorry about that... Did you try and talk to them about it?” Ladybug asked gently, tilting her head.

   “Yes! But they shut me out.” Scarlet Widow crossed her arms. “Mom said we ain't ever going to have Pix back!” She pulled out a photo from… seemingly nowhere. How come Ladybug doesn’t have pockets but she does. She’s going to have to talk to Tikki about it when it’s not so much of a disaster. Scarlet Widow lovingly strokes the picture of Pix, eyes trailing where her clawed finger went. It was looking more and more like a strange appendage and less than a claw.

“Do you want to show us Pix? Maybe we can help find her?” Chat says, leaning towards the picture, hand extended in a friendly way. She looked up at him then at her hand, gripping the picture.

“You’re just goin’ to permanently get rid of her, aren't you!” She stood up, eyes narrowed at him as she got in a defensive position around the photograph. His feline ears swiveled back as though he was wounded. 

“N-no. I was just going to help and see if we could find her.” He said, his eyes pulling up to have the appearance of wide and hurt, along with his tail swirling around his body as his ears flattened themselves against his head. Ladybug was impressed, he could really pull off the hurt kitten look. It made her even more upset that Hawkmoth was causing pain upon the citizens of Paris and her kitten.

“O-Oh. You sure? You ain't goin’ to take her from me again, are you?” She asked as she looked at the two superheroes. She glanced once more down at her photo and kissed it quickly before passing along the picture to Chat. Chat Noir took it, pulling it towards him so that he could see it. A shock gasped escaped both of them. Before them, in the picture, was a smiling little girl, holding a tarantula in her hand. Her braids beaded with the same colors as the spider the girl was holding. 

“Wow. That’s a big sp... Spider…” Chat says, passing the picture to Ladybug, shivering as he did so. He shook his head, as they both pulled apart the photo causing a black butterfly to escape the torn picture. Black erupted around the girl and in her place was a girl looking shocked with a tear-streaked face.

“What? Where am I? Wait. Ladybug? Chat Noir?” She questioned, reaching up to hold onto her braids, curling in on herself. “Where’s Pix?” 

“We don’t know. But we can check this out for you. Ladybug can give you the picture back once she fixes everything.” Chat explains, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Ladybug nodded, standing up and calling the magical spell to revert everything back to normal. Chat held out his fist for the fist bump.

“Before we do that, Chat, I need to talk to you.” She glanced around. “But not here.” She explained. Her eyes surveyed the area, wondering if the person that had followed her to Master Fu’s was here. 

“Everything ok, M’Lady?” His eyebrows wrenched in concerned, his posture changes to where he was leaning towards her, arm reached out to console her. “Are you afraid of spiders?” He asked, a smirk ghosting his lips. She shook her head.

“I wish that’s what I was worried about, Kitty.” She spoke softly, glancing around. “Let's go talk up there.” She told him, unlatching her yoyo and tossing it to wrap by a nearby chimney. She launched herself into the air, knowing full well that he would follow her after helping the girl talk to her parents. She felt eyes on the back of her once she had landed and was looking around. Dozens of people were watching her, as normal for them being superheroes. Waving she stepped back away from the edge to wait for Chat on the other side of the chimney where others wouldn’t see her. Settling against the brick, she looked around, still feeling like she wasn’t alone. Maybe she shouldn’t tell Chat, maybe it was unsafe upon ears that weren’t his. She stood up abruptly, smacking into Chat as he appeared out of nowhere.

“My Lady, you ok?” He asked, concern written on his face and his ears twitching constantly. Ladybug could tell he knew they weren’t alone.

“I just feel… kind of sick. I uh. Let me see something real quick.” She opened her yoyo, sending Chat a quick message about how she can’t say anything because someone was near. And that she’ll send the Guardian to visit him. “I’ll leave you, wouldn’t want you catching a cold now.” She smiled best she could, his ears twitching as he got the message, eyes skimming over it quickly before nodding.

“I hope you get well soon, my lady.” He bowed before he stepped back and flipped backward off the roof. Ladybug stepped out from the chimney, looking around before slinging her yoyo towards the Eiffel tower, landing high up and going to hide in the shadows. Whoever was following her, surely they couldn’t get to her up here. If she waited long enough in the shadows, surely she’ll be able to leave safely. If not, well, panic flared in her chest at the thought. She pulled out her communicator, debating if she should try and contact Master Fu with it or just wait and use her phone. She decided that the communicator would be best if her stalker was near so her identity would be safe.

“Hello, Ladybug.” Master Fu’s voice came through the other end soon, a sigh escaping her lips.

“Master. I’m scared.” She whispered into the receiver. “I think someone’s following me, and I don’t want to detransform where anyone can see who I am. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Deep breathes, Ladybug. Were you able to inform Chat Noir about the situation?” He asked her, trying to get her mind off of it.

“I wasn’t able. We both knew we weren’t alone.” She whispered, peeking down the tower to the closest landing that someone could be on. It appeared to be empty.

“Are you still feeling that way?”

“No, Master.” She said honestly, looking around to see that she really was alone, minus the lights that lit up the place.

"I just don't want to be wrong." She explained as she leaned against the cool support beam.

 "I know you're worried, Ladybug; and rightfully so. I believe you can detransform if you really want to; I know how cautious you are about it. You will be able to safely detransform for tonight." Master's voice seemed to calm her. "Any idea who is following you?" He asked.

 "No. I don't. It may be the same person that followed me earlier." She thought about it, feeling sick in the pit of her stomach at the fact that someone might be onto her. This isn't good. "I don't want anyone to have any idea where I live. I'm not sure what to do." She said honestly. Her eyes skimmed over the sky, it wasn't too late yet. But the more concerned feature would be trying to get home and then explaining where she was. Master Fu was silent on the opposite end, knowing that Ladybug's mind was working up a solution.

“Do you know how much time you have left?” 

“I didn’t use my special charm, so I have as much time as I want, correct?”

“Yes.”

 A sigh escaped her lips, leaning against the iconic structure for support.

“Alright. I’ll figure something out. I’ll let you need if I need anything, alright?” She checked with Master Fu before ending the conversation.

“Of course, Ladybug. Whatever you need to do. I have faith in you.” He responded gently, allowing her to decide when to end the call so that she could have a peace of mind. Taking a deep breath, she looked across the cityscape of the city that she loved. She really wished Chat was here. He could help calm her. Pulling in on herself, she wrapped her arms around her torso and rested her chin on her knees. Trying to steady her breathing, she closed her eyes. Tikki was more support at the moment in her earrings, allowing her to have this spot to be safe and away from everyone. 

She knew that sooner or later, her parents were going to message her, and she couldn’t respond while she was in the suit. Yet she still didn’t feel comfortable with going home. Weighing her options, she thought about stopping by to see Chloe, no one would expect Marinette or Ladybug to randomly appear there. Plus, she might be able to say something to see if Chloe was the one stalking Ladybug. That, and tell her about her miraculous. Nodding to herself, she stood up, grabbing the yoyo and turning on the tracker. If she was going to feel like she was being stalked, she was going to at least feel secure that her location could be tracked if anything came to that. Taking a deep breath, she closed the yoyo before throwing it with ease off of the tower, flying through the air. It was calming, numbing her nerves so that she wouldn’t have to worry at the moment. Landing in a spot, she looked around, trying to figure out the best way to get to Chloé’s. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy my story! You're kudos, bookmarks, and comments make me super happy! I really appreciate it! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!! 
> 
> I'll be posting updates on my Tumblr for when I've updated a chapter or posted a new story, I shall link it here soon. Thank you again for reading, it means the world! [dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr](https://dadplagg-mamatikki.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'm still low-key trying to get used to how this site works, so forgive me for things that are oddly placed! Anyways, I've created a discord area for this story! Feel free to check it out! It includes fun little things like songs that inspire it, updates about when I'm working, as well as some of my other stories! [Behind Bars Discord Channel](https://discord.gg/f7bfrdr)  
> If you want to be a beta for this story or any of my others, you'll be able to find information here for that! Thank you once more for reading my story! Please enjoy and leave feedback! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I get when I see there's any interaction with my stories.


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